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Uruguay was always prized for bank secrecy laws "Switzerland of SA" and the ability to open "bearer" corporations. In the early 2000's when Argentina had their Financial crisis these laws were seriously compromised (along with bank financial conditions and a weak currency) due to the necessity of accepting IMF loans.

Currently the major attractions are lack of capital controls on inflows/outflows of investment, easy residency ( $500/mth income) but more importantly the ability to get a second passport which is near impossible for retiree's in other SA countries.

With regard to RE investment (only necessary for fast tracking citizenship) there are reputable/disreputable companies in every country and it is always "buyer beware". I have never seriously looked at buying in Uruguay but have many friends who bought in BA and there is a highly recommended company (Reynolds) who also operates in Uruguay.

I have never been there, but IMO heaven on earth is a big sophisticated city with beaches on the open ocean where it is warm enough to swim. Seems like Montevideo ought to fit this bill pretty nicely. Anyone know if they speak that Italianized Porteņo dialect?

Ha

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"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams

I have never been there, but IMO heaven on earth is a big sophisticated city with beaches on the open ocean where it is warm enough to swim. Seems like Montevideo ought to fit this bill pretty nicely. Anyone know if they speak that Italianized Porteņo dialect?

Ha

I am familiar with Montevideo and aware of it's attractions. Banking law and such. If you are looking for a place to hang out for a few weeks, why not, but I would not want to live there. Too small and too far away from the rest of the world. For me a sophisticated city has lots of ethnic diversity and frequent visitors from around the world. Rio fits that bill perfectly, although it is now very expensive. The southern cone countries are not that diverse and their economies are not stable. Nice beaches, lifestyle options that include both big city and simple living can also be found in Mexico. Panama comes to mind as well.

A lot of these countries are not options for Americans unless they have some ethnic ties so they're able to get resident visas. Also, access to health care systems in some of these countries with desirable systems is unclear.

Countries like Switzerland, Denmark, Australia and NZ do not seem conducive to LBYM or an ER lifestyle do they? Housing in Australia especially is high. The real estate bubble never burst there because their economy hummed right through 2008 with their commodity exports and low unemployment rate. There have been predictions of a housing crash coming there.

I've heard that some countries like Italy do offer retirement visas if you can demonstrate proof that you have the financial means to support yourself. Of course the language is a problem, though in the Internet age, you're never cut off from your own culture.

The issues could be the upheavals due in the PIIGS because of fiscal/political/economic problems. Might not be the best place to be an immigrant who may be seen as having money (retired, not working) when people are losing jobs/unable to find decent employment.

Plus, would you pay taxes on your retirement withdraws to Uncle Sam and to the Italian govt? Would you have the opportunity to access their health care system, especially if you pay any kind of taxes besides VAT and perhaps property taxes?

With money not being an issue, you'd think a lot more choices of places like London, Paris, the Riviera, etc.

I don't think money would have any impact on where (if I ever do) decide to "settle down". Currently we are in Chiang Mai, Thailand and are loving it. There are so many other factors in choosing a place that fits you and the great thing is everyone has a different opinion to what is important.

For us it would be the opportunity to learn a new language and experience a different culture. Clearly, this would not be everyone's dream. But at the same time the idea of spending retirement in London, no matter how much I love the city (which we do) would not be anywhere close to our dream. I believe the reason we like to explore is the opportunity to learn from people who have such different experiences, and in many cases we just seem drawn to places that would be considered developing. Though that said, I have met more truly happy people in these countries than I think I met in my last year in the US.

I wouldn't care if I had a billion dollars, I still would not be interested in living in London, the Rivieria, New York or the like. These places hold no interest for me. Might be nice to visit, but I have no desire to spend any real amount of time in these locations.

__________________I be a girl, he's a boy. Think I maybe FIRED since July 08. Mid 40s, no kidlets. Actually am totally clueless as to what is going on with DH.

Yes, you need to do your research. I have now lived in 4 foreign countries.

For instance, I spent a fair amount of time in Colombia because I had a nice GF there. But you can only stay 180 days a year in Colombia on a tourist visa, no exceptions -- and you can't fix this with border runs. The investor visa options are $200K in real estate, or $100K to start some kind of business with a plan approved by the immigration authorities. The pension requirements were about $1000/month as of about 2 years ago. As an early retiree, you probably won't have a pension -- I don't plan to take Social Security until I am 70.

Ecuador changed their tourist visa to 90 days per year, maximum, due to soaring crime and becoming a haven for international criminals (can't be fixed with border runs). Their permanent resident requirements are not so bad, though. Like Venezuela, crime is out of control there and I would not consider it.

Thailand is nice, but you must be over 50 to qualify for the retirement visa, but otherwise reasonable (around 800K baht in a Thai bank account for a retirement visa, topped up well before renewal time). When I was there I was under 50 (and still am! lol), so I couldn't really stay full-time, they have gotten strict about tourist visa runs.

Mexico and Philippines both have ways of staying full-time that are pretty easy for expats, including those under 50 like myself. I just got back from living in Mazatlan, Mexico, also visited Billy and Akaisha in Chapala, and am headed back to the Philippines in a couple of weeks. I will be in Cebu starting February 1, so hit me up if you are there. I am in the USA visiting family for Christmas, my first Christmas with family in 5 years, although I have come back to the USA to visit family twice each year since I retired almost 5 years ago.

It all depends on what you are looking for, where your friends are, how close you want to be to family, etc. There are a lot of tradeoffs. I tend to spend less money in the USA than any country that I travel to . . . I also find the USA to be a very cold weather country but many people don't feel that way. I even goggled studies on this to try to find out why Americans seem to like cold weather so much, lol.

Where else in the world will you go and retire? Thanks for those who will answer.

__________________Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.

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